I promise to do my bestTo do my duty to God and my country,To help other people, andTo obey the Law of the Pack.

Welcome to the Bear Trail!

Any boy may earn Bear achievements and electives if he is in the third grade, or is nine years old. To earn the Bear badge, a boy must complete 12 of the 24 specified achievements listed below. He can select the ones he wants to do from four different groups: God, Country, Family, and Self.

When a boy finishes an achievement, he will need to have an adult member of his family sign and date his book. He will then take the book to the next den meeting and his den leader will record it on the Cub Scout (Den) Advancement Chart and initial his book. When he has done 12 Bear achievements, he becomes a Bear Cub Scout. If a Bear-aged boy is new to Cub Scouting, he must complete the Bobcat trail before beginning work on the Bear achievements.

The Bear Achievements

GOD (Do ONE of the following)

Ways We Worship

Emblems of Faith

COUNTRY(Do THREE of the following)

What Makes America Special?

Tall Tales

Sharing Your World With Wildlife

Take Care of Your Planet

Law Enforcement is a Big Job

FAMILY (Do FOUR of the following)

The Past is Exciting and Important

What's Cooking?

Family Fun

Be ready!

Family Outdoor Adventure

Saving Well, Spending Well

SELF (Do FOUR of the following)

Ride Right

Games, Games, Games!

Building Muscles

Information Please

Jot it Down

Shavings and Chips

Sawdust and Nails

Build a Model

Tying it All Up

Sports, Sports, Sports

Be a Leader

When a boy has completed twelve of these twenty-four achievements through all four parts of the Bear trail, he has earned the right to wear the Bear badge. Details regarding the completion of the achievements and associated electives can be found in the BSA Bear Cub Scout Book.

After earning his Bear badge, a boy can begin working on his Bear electives to earn his gold and silver Arrow Points.

Earning Arrow Points

"For Completion of Bear Electives"

Electives are not like achievements. A Wolf or Bear Cub Scout can pick any requirement he likes from the electives and do it. When he has completed ten elective requirements, he has earned his first Arrow Point - a gold one. Only one gold arrow point may be earned during the Wolf year, and one during the Bear year. It is worn ¾” below and centered under the current rank badge (Wolf and Bear).

After earning a Gold Arrow Point, a Cub may complete ten more requirements to earn a Silver Arrow Point. Under his Wolf or Bear badge, he may wear as many Silver Arrow Points as he earns. They are worn in rows of two below, centered, and touching the Gold Arrow Point or previously earned Silver Arrow Points for each rank.

For Bears Only!!

There are slight differences between the Wolf and Bear Arrow Points rules. In the Bear program, achievement requirements now follow the same rules as the elective requirements. Each one is a separate project. The achievements sometimes require completion of an elective to satisfy a particular requirement. As such, after completing all of his achievements a Bear Cub can go back to his electives and use any requirement he did not count toward his Bear badge.

Remember these important rules:

A Bear can mix requirements from electives and unused achievements in any way to get the ten he needs for each Arrow Point. He may earn Arrow Points from the Bear Cub Scout Book until he becomes a Webelos Scout.

He may work on these electives all through his Bear year, but he cannot receive Arrow Points until he has earned your Bear badge. Any achievement requirement that he has completed to earn his Bear badge cannot be used again to earn Arrow Points, but there are many more to choose from﻿.

Recognizing a Cub’s Progress on the Bear Trail

Your boy doesn’t have to wait until he completes his entire Bear trail before being recognized for his work. As a Bear, when he completes any three achievements, his den leader can present the Progress Toward Ranks patch to him. It’s a diamond with a leather (or plastic) thong attached and a red bead attached to one end. It is worn on the button of the right shirt pocket. Each time the boy completes three achievements he will receive another red bead. After he gets his fourth red bead, he will receive his Bear badge at a pack meeting. Cub Scouts may continue to wear this emblem after ranks are earned until they become Webelos Scouts.